Contests/Giveaways (from other blogs)

Hey guys,

just wanna share with you some contests or giveaways you can enter. These contest/giveaways are open to Singapore residents (and that’s why I joined them). For other countries, please check again with the organizer. Thanks!

BeautyBegins has an amazing giveaway that contains one set of nail polishes and a set of eyeshadow, and many other things! Enter by becoming a follower of her blog (you have to have a Google account) and commenting at her 100th Follower Giveaway post. Closing: 25th of July 2010.

Cherry Mischiveous has a giveaway of 10 Poundsterling Amazon voucher (supposedly can be used in Amazon everywhere, and Amazon does ship to Singapore). To enter, follow her blog (again, Google account), and comment at the July Follower Giveaway post. Closing: 31st of July 2010.

Recaptured Charm is giving away a beautiful Sterling Silver 925 necklace. Go to her 400 Followers giveaway post and make a comment. Closing: Not said. Probably 18th of July 2010.

Star Shadow is giving away 4 new books for you to read. You can enter by submitting the form on her 400 Followers Giveaway post. Closing: 30th of July 2010.

Nikki from Beads, Braids and Beyond has a giveaway of Curlformers (basically a novel way to curl your hair – it looks so easy!). There are so many ways you can enter the giveaway – up to 9 chances! Visit her Curlformers Styling Kit giveaway post. Closing: July 29th. (Actually I’m not sure whether this is open internationally – but I hope so!)

Well ok that’s it for now. Good luck if you guys are also entering!

Unbearably Instant

Just some things to ponder about.

When I was in Jakarta, my littlest sister one day threw tantrums to her boyfriend because he had not replied her text messages for several hours. Or not @-replying her on Twitter. Whichever it was.

I was like, “Seriously, sis? Maybe he’s just busy doing something else?”. And my sister shot me a blank look, depicting something like “Even if he’s busy he should be able to reply me”.

Isn’t that the bane of today’s world? It’s unbearably instant (borrowing phrase from my friend Putu). Decades ago, lovers will send each other love letters and wait weeks, even months, for a reply. To even receive a reply is a lovely surprise.

Right now we have text messages, IMs, Twitter, and many other applications that claim to bring people closer together, but create attention-deficit impatient people instead. We don’t even send long e-mails anymore (except perhaps when your groupmate is acting really obnoxious. SMU joke – if you don’t get it never mind). When was the last time you sent an e-mail like a real mail? Something like how are you, how is it like at your place, what has been going on, and yadda yadda yadda. Never? I am not surprised. Too often the longest emails I received are from my aunt who just caught the e-mail forwarding virus (yes, in 2010!).

Do we not have enough time to stop and wait? Or are we expected NOT to have time? Because everything is unbearably instant…

Here’s a suggestion. You don’t even need to send a real hand-written letter via post (do people even know that postal service still exists?). Try sending long e-mails. Write to a friend. Tell him/her how you are doing, what have you been up to. Ask him/her about what he/she has been planning to do, or even about his/her quirky hobbies.

Send the e-mail.

And then wait for the reply.

Savour the time.

Skype iPhone Cover Giveaway Winners!

The giveaway has ended and of course I have to announce the winners!

Using an excel sheet and Random.org, I have chosen 2 winners.

1. Kelvin (email: iphone@maixxxxxx.com)
2. Jasmine (twitter handle: @galovesongs)

Congratulations, Kelvin and Jasmine! Will contact you via e-mail/twitter soon to get your mailing address. Please reply promptly!

Note: Oops! I have got Kelvin’s name confused with Michael! I really apologize to both of you. Michael, you can join another giveaway I linked below ok? Thanks!

If you haven’t won, don’t worry! Robert is also having a Skype iPhone cover giveaway at his blog, so join if you want to! Of course the ones that have won should not join again, that won’t be fair

Anyway, congrats, and I hope there will be more giveaways in the future!

E72′s Rookie

In case you didn’t know, I actually use a Nokia E72 now. I bought it for myself, as my own 21st birthday present.

And I have nothing but good things to say about it! Firstly, I love how elegant it looks. Countless people (usually Indonesians) have taunted me with questions “Why didn’t you buy a Blackberry instead???”. And I said to them “Hello! Didn’t you see how mine looks much better than that brick of yours??”.

Elegant

Brick

Secondly I love its very touch-sensitive Optical Navi Key! Granted it’s not a trackpad, but it works well in navigating menu and stuff. Works great in web browsing too. Thirdly, its shortcut buttons (contacts, email, home, calendar) is fast and really saves me time.

Oh and one thing that Nokia didn’t really promote (and I think they should!) is the super-awesome QWERTY keyboard. It has the same proportion as computer’s QWERTY keyboard. What I mean is, some QWERTY phones crowd a lot of additional buttons (usually at the last row, the row with Z-M) and it messes up the proportion – some keys are a lot further to the right/to the left than it should be. I tried using my sisters’ QWERTY phones (one from LG, one from Samsung) and I had difficulties because I keep punching the wrong keys! Not with E72. My transition from the usual numeric keypad (mind you, I’ve been using it for at least 10 years!) was smooth and painless. Oh and, the QWERTY keyboard makes really really minimal sound. Typing is not noisy at all and even enjoyable with the smooth keys.

Sis’ Samsung

Nokia E72

Sis’ LG

Unfortunately I can’t yet use the most hyped Nokia Messaging feature since I don’t have a post-paid plan (yes I still use prepaid!), and thus unable to use the extra feature. I’ll sign up for the post-paid plan when I have found a job!

You can see how Nokia Messaging works in Nokia’s very own reality show though – which is entitled “The Rookie“. Basically this show is The Apprentice-style (remember Donald Trump?) reality show. Contestants fight with each other (not physically, of course!) to get internships at 4 big companies: Nokia (of course!), Standard Chartered Bank, Zouk, and Microsoft. The best-of-the-best intern of the final 4 will be crowned “The Rookie” and get a cash prize of SGD 5000!

The contestants are divided into two teams (Alpha and Bravo), and each week they have to go through different series of challenges. One member of the losing team will then be eliminated each week.

They all looked so happy and close during the photoshoot. Who knew what drama would happen.. Hur hur.

Ok I was talking in present and present future tense, but actually The Rookie has already been crowned last Saturday in Zouk! There was a contest that asked you to predict the winner and you could win a Nokia E72 yourself. Unfortunately, the contest also already ended. Nevertheless, I hope one of you reading follows my Twitter (@sylvdoanx) and entered the contest, and hopefully, will win the AWSAM Nokia E72!

You can also still catch up with the episodes of The Rookie online. Watch them go through interesting challenges such as designing a print ad, organizing a fund-raiser, and many more. A lot of drama, of course *wink wink*. And also the showcase of Nokia E72. If you’re still thinking of buying one and you don’t trust reviews, you can watch The Rookie episodes to see how it works in real life! The Rookie website also includes several behind-the-scenes videos. Oh, and, dunno if it’s relevant, but I think The Rookie’s host Bobby Tonelli is hawt! Quite an eye candy, I must say… Hehehehehehehe.

See..

(Images from Bobby Tonelli’s website)

Ok, signing out now. Hope you guys check out The Rookie, and of course try/use Nokia E72 eventually!

PS: I have a Skype iPhone cover giveaway. Enter the contest!

Skype at CommunicAsia 2010 (giveaway at the bottom!)

Navigation:

CommunicAsia 2010
Skype at CommunicAsia 2010
Giveaway!

CommunicAsia2010 and BroadcastAsia2010 is Asia’s premier business event for the global infocomm technology (ICT), broadcasting and media industries. It’s held at Singapore Expo from 15 – 18 June 2010.

The exhibitions feature almost 2,000 exhibiting companies from 57 countries and regions, keen on unveiling their latest offerings.
(info from CommunicAsia’s press release)

On June 16 I had the privilege of attending the blogger’s session from Skype at CommunicAsia 2010. I have Daphne from XPR to thank for that.

I was so in love with the Skype booth. It’s so cheery, with sky blue and rainbows all around!

Isn’t that just pretty?

We were guided around the booth by Peter Parkes, social media lead of Skype, who explained to us the new features/functionalities of Skype.

Yes that’s me listening. Hehe.

Basically what Peter informed us is the availability on Skype on other platforms other than the more traditional computer (PC/Mac alike). Skype is now available for mobile devices (Symbian phones, iPhone), and even TV!

Yes, TV!

It actually supports HD video, and the camera/microphone combo has 4 microphones and is able to pick up sound from 45 metres.

Example of the video:

There was very little grain/noise. It was quite impressive.

However the Skype on TV is only available as embedded software within select TVs. Currently Panasonic Viera HDTV supports it, with the requirement of a communication camera (sold separately). Not sure whether it’s required to use Panasonic’s own communication camera or it’s possible to use other compatible cameras. Peter also mentioned Samsung and some other brand of TV to embed the Skype software. Not sure about the details.

And then of course there was Skype for iPhone and Symbian phones. Skype in the Nokia N900 is not even a separate application, it’s actually seamlessly embedded in the phone. When you scroll through your contact list, for example, you can see the option “Call using Skype” appear. Interesting! After the event, I just had to download Skype to my Nokia E72 and it’s pretty easy to use! It can also merge the Skype contacts and the phone contacts together, but it’s not yet seamless like N900′s.

Screenshot:

Peter also talked about Business usage for Skype. Basically Skype will help businesses (Peter mentioned especially small and medium businesses) save costs on communications. Makes sense, because Skype can enable people to call, chat, send files, and even do conferences/group callings at the same time! The new feature available at Skype Business is Skype Manager, which is a web application you can use to manage the usage of Skype inside your organization. For example – if you want to manage how much Skype credits to give to your employees. You may go to Skype for Business website for more details.

Oh, and I think the Skype Manager ad is so cute!

By now you might be wondering – even if it’s on mobile phones, how exactly can I call people without Skype? Understandably, Skype has traditionally been used for free Skype-to-Skype calls but apparently it can also be used to call landlines/mobiles. You can purchase Skype credits to do so, or even better, you can use Skype subscriptions for unlimited calls to countries/Europe/World. Pretty good deal I think! Sadly, the Skype subscription worldwide that I got excluded Indonesia (my home country), so I said good bye to my unlimited calls to home. Sigh.

Giveaway! (updated!!)

Yeay! Now it’s time for the giveaway!

I have 2 Skype iPhone covers to give away!

(They both have the same design, only different colours – white/black)

To enter the giveaway contest is simple!

1. Leave a comment at this post with your name and (valid!) email, stating what you use/you can use/you plan to use Skype for.

And that’s it! Yes, it’s that easy.

You can also have another chance by tweeting about this giveaway. Please see the directions at the first comment below!

Some T&Cs:

1. The last entry of the contest will be accepted at 23 June 2010 23.59 PM 25 June 2010 23.59 PM. Winners will be announced at latest by 30 June 2010.
2. This contest is open to people who reside at Singapore or have a Singapore mailing address.
3. Postage fee will be borne by me a.k.a postage is freeeeee
4. One person (with one e-mail) is allowed one entry via comment on blog post and two entries via Twitter (directions at the first comment below!).
5. There will be 2 winners. Winners will be chosen by random numbers (Random.org)
6. Colours will be determined by random too.

Looking forward for your entries!

Note:  A number of other blogs will be having the same giveaway, I’ll post links to their giveaway’s so you can have more chances of winning one!

Comfort Zone

Here I am again, at my comfort zone. In a house where I don’t need to worry about food on plate and dirty laundry or room.

For how long should I be here, I don’t know. I haven’t even bought a ticket back to Singapore. It’s like I’ve been home for so long I almost forgot how Singapore looks like.

I think I have to convince myself to just go, to just dive in, to just step out and face it.

I’ve done it before when 4 years ago I came into Singapore, without anyone, without knowing anything. I survived.

But I dunno if I want to prolong it…

To Challenge Myself, is the next step

Found this brilliant comic by Stuart McMillen that portrays exactly how I feel to finally finish an education.

Though reluctant, I realize that to challenge myself, rather than overcoming challenges in education, is definitely my next step.

I can’t believe I cried while reading the comic.

Below is only the thumbnail of the comic (original comic is huge and long).

Please enjoy the full-sized comic at Stuart’s site : Recombinant Records

Does Service Matter?

Please tell me I’m not the only one who found the service level in Singapore is like 6 feet under. It sucks.

Almost every time I sit down in a restaurant, or simply ordering food at hawker centres, the server/hawker will only ask “Yes, order?”. Sometimes there is not even a question. They will only take out their order pads, or the best one – raising their eyebrows at me. It’s as if we have a telepathy going on.

Whatever happened to “Good morning/afternoon/evening, may I take your order?”?

That's not food, by the way

Pardon me for being particular. But I come from the land of smiles and I mean that literally. Doesn’t matter if it’s a restaurant, a fast food joint, or an undignified “WarTeg” (small diners providing basic food, usually for lower class citizens), people always greet me with a smile and chirpy voice. Ok, not always, but most of the time.

Perhaps it’s the tips thing? It’s always customary to give tips to service staff in Indonesia, when it’s not a common practice here in Singapore. Already included in the bill, they say.

Small fact: I pay 21% service charge in Indonesia, and I still tip anyway. (we are all expected to)

Does tips really make the difference in service level?

Does service matter in the first place anyway?

For me it matters, a damn lot. I don’t care if the food is gourmet, if the service is bad the food will taste bland. I stopped going to MOS Burger at Novena Square because there is this super annoying auntie who doesn’t even speak when I’m ordering, or even look at me for that matter. That is despite my unrequited LOVE for MOS Burger. At the food court/hawker centre near home, I only buy sugarcane juice from 1 stall, just because the owners are nice, smiley, and always remembers me.

How about you? Does good service matter in your choice of where to eat?

Photo by remittancegirl, under Creative Commons NC-SA 2.0